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[Page 6]
sheep's back, dried quickly In the sun and onto our backs. They still had the strong smell of the animal on them.
I had been with the Battalion after I rejoined it in 1916 after hospital due to a "Blighty" I got at Pozieres until April 1918 without leave. I made an application and was sent to the 5th Training Battalion, Fovant, England for a rest.
There were 12 N.C.O.s along with me crossing the Channel. We got news that the enemy attack had not been where we expected It but the area where we were in the Somme. The place we had been in 1916!!
On arrival at Fovant, 8 of the N.C.O.s who came over with me were sent straight back to their Battllons. 3 others and myself were kept at the camp. By remaining there I missed the Villes-Bretonneux stunt. This was the only big attack in which the Battalion was involved that I missed from beginning to end.
I rejoined my Unit at Guise after about 4 months in England. I cannot personally describe the Battalions operations at Mont St. Quentin and Villes-Brettonaux.
The enemy was continuing to fall back on prepared positions.
There were shallow trenches, machine gun emplacements and very wide, waist high barbed wire entanglements. They were very well constructed, very wide and as indicated by the rusty wire had been placed there years before. These obstacles caused our attacking troops many casualties as they were constantly under fire from machine guns spraying the entanglements. At each of their prepared fall back positions the enemy had dumps of mustard gas shells with which they pelted us for the last 3 months of the war quite indiscriminately.
Knowing they would not be holding any of the positions for very long It was risky for them to take the gas shells along with them. To prevent us from using them the contents of the shells would be spread over the ground like treacle. During winter and dull, cloudy weather with light rain the contents would lie dormant until a person sat or lay on them.Body heat would make the stuff active resulting in nasty sores, and temporary blindness.
The heat of the sun would cause fumes to be very active with the result that we could often smell them and should the concentration be dense we would use our gas mask.
On the retreat, the enemy were falling back on the Hindenburg Line at Bellecourt, Montbrehaln and Beauvoir, where they were prepared to make a stand and bring our advance to a halt. However a huge American force had been in France for many months training to challenge and overun the entrenched position. The attack was to take place in October and when the attack took place we were in a position well back in reserve and were told would probably would not be needed. However it did not turn out that way. The Americans, full of fight and rearing to go overran the Hindenburg Line by sheer mass of men but advanced too quickly passing over and leaving many enemy behind hiding underground in deep dugouts. The result was they had a fighting enemy behind as well as in front. One night at 9pm we were given orders to fall into battle order to go to their assistance. We did not reach their position until dawn. We had the job of mopping up which the Yanks had failed to do due to their inexperience. They suffered enormous casualties and we noticed much disorganisation amongst their ranks when we arrived.
After some days of making the area free of the enemy and cutting wires suspect of leading to hidden mines which they had left behind. We found that the dugouts were very deep.
We prepared to advance and capture the village of Jeancourt which the Yanks had failed to do.. Due to the very wide belt of wire entanglements our losses were very heavy. A couple who served with me on Gallipoli were killed. I remember the case of a